Jeffe Kennedy is a popular and successful romance author, but in 2007 she was just about to make her first fiction sale. That story was “Pearl,” a romantic science fiction novelette, and reading it for the first time I never guessed this would be the first of Jeffe’s fiction stories anyone had bought. The University of New Mexico Press had published Jeffe’s collection of essays: Wyoming Trucks, True Love, and the Weather Channel, but she had yet to break out as an author of the erotic romances that have won her an enviable fan following.

As one of the editors who bought “Pearl” in 2007 and published it in 2008 in Æon Speculative Fiction, I always wanted to see this story reach more readers. Now, as a stand-alone e-book, it will have that chance.

To create a cover for Pearl the e-book, I began with the illustration I’d designed for it back in 2008—a closeup of a beautiful young woman in a futuristic setting. Her face and the subtlety of her expression make this a striking portrait of the character Pearl. I didn’t want type to interfere with the utter purity of that face, so I dropped the title and author’s name to the very bottom of the cover and counted on that remarkable face to draw the viewer’s eye where it needed to go.

Pearl, by Jeffe Kennedy - Page 1

The hard, almost industrial type of the title suggest the prison colony setting of the story, and the looping script provides a striking visual contrast while emphasizing the story's romantic elements.

The pink title color is taken from the color of Pearl's lips, then deepened almost to red for the script type, to provide lots of contrast. A photo of a pearl, tinted slightly pink, serves as a chapter and break ornament.

Jeffe's publishing logo features an illustration of her iconic purple hat and her initials.

Pearl is available from today at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon CA, and all Amazon stores worldwide. It will soon be on sale at other e-book retailers.